Facilitation/Training/Coaching

Persistence vs genius

Incredible to think isn’t it, that the Chinese language started off as English in England, but then one person whispered it to another person…

That’s how Milton Jones kicks off his comedy routine, according to this Guardian article on how various performers develop their material. In Jones’ case, there is a huge amount of testing of material. And it’s interesting to hear how tiny tweaks have an impact, and how different things work differently with different audiences. (I loved that, for instance, inserting a pause after “isn’t it” in that opening gag can have quite an impact).

I suggest there are parallel lessons for facilitators/innovators and maybe some other human beings too. Less focus on the idea of individual genius or guaranteed formulae. More emphasis on practice and experimentation.